


like kindergarten

by thesmallestplanet



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Friends, F/M, First Meetings, the infamous first meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:55:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24036220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesmallestplanet/pseuds/thesmallestplanet
Summary: Richard Bowen and Nina Salazar-Roberts meet on the first day of Kindergarten...
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	like kindergarten

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time ever posting a story to ao3, but I posted this to Tumblr quite a while ago and wanted to upload it some other places so I thought I would put it here! Hope you enjoy!

Richard Bowen did not want to go to school.

Richard Bowen really _really_ did not want to go to school.

That was all he could think as he stood there, the large building looming up in front of him, his parents behind him. Up until this point, the young boy had actually been rather excited for school, his parents had told him all about how he would make friends, and have fun, and learn all kinds of new things… But now that he stood there, seeing the school for the first, it looked _scary,_ and suddenly he was a lot less sure about school.

Turning back around to face his parents, he shook his head quickly, running over to his mom and wrapping his arms around her leg. “I changed my mind, I don’t wanna go. _Please_ don’t make me go, mommy. It’s too scary, daddy. Don’t make me go please.” He dragged out the last word, burying his face in the side of his mother’s leg, clinging on for dear life.

He heard a chuckle come from above him and he scowled, he didn’t think this was very funny. He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and reluctantly pulled his face out of his mother’s leg, only to come face to face with his father. “Richard, buddy, you got to go to school. I know it seems scary now, but I promise it will be a lot of fun. Don’t you remember what mommy and I told you?” Mike Bowen looked up at his wife, prompting her to finish the conversation for him, and Richard looked up at her too.

Lynne smiled down at her son, a hand going to run through his curls as she nodded. “Yeah, sweetie, remember? You’re going to make lots of friends, and you’ll have so much fun, and you’re going to be able to learn all kinds of things you didn’t know before. You’ll be so smart, don’t you want to be smart like me and daddy?” She asked gently.

Richard considered this for a moment, he did want to be smart, he was a curious child, always asking all kinds of questions, and wanting to know how his mom and dad knew so much… And the idea of making friends _did_ sound like a lot of fun… He looked back at the school building and as he did, he noticed a boy that seemed to be his age entering the school with his parents, he had bright red hair and he didn’t look scared at all… Okay, okay, maybe he could do this. 

Sucking in a breath, he detached himself from his mother’s leg, letting the breath out and then looking up at his parents. He gave a small nod, almost as if he was trying to confirm to himself that he was sure about this, and stuck out a hand to his mother. “Okay. Okay. I’ll go.” Lynne’s smile widened and she took her son’s hand, and they began to walk into the school, Mike following behind them. 

It didn’t take them very long to find Richard’s classroom, and his teacher (her name was Miss Cassie) greeted them with a warm smile, it reminded him of his mom and it kind of made him feel safe. He said goodbye to his parents, which was hard but he told himself he couldn’t cry in front of all the other kids, he had to be a big boy now, he had to be brave… And then it was just him and Miss Cassie. 

“Well, Richard, we have to find you a buddy!” The teacher exclaimed, and at his confused expression, went on to explain herself. “Oh, well, you see, I have tables for everyone, each table has two chairs. Your buddy will be who you sit next to, and the two of you will work with each other on projects and such, hm… Let’s see, who can I put you with…” She looked around for a moment, seeking an empty seat. “Oh! I know!” 

She began to lead him towards one of the tables, at the table seated a girl. She was pretty, and looked friendly enough, but Richard still found himself a little nervous. “Richard, this is Nina Salazar-Roberts, I think the two of you will make _great_ buddies.” She waited for him to get seated before moving back to the front of the classroom to greet the next new kid. 

“Hi!” The girl exclaimed, smiling widely at him. He noted that she was missing one of her front teeth, but her smile was still just as pretty as the rest of her. In a way, it reminded him of his mom too. 

“Hi.” He said back shyly, attempting to give a smile of his own. 

She didn’t seem to mind his shyness though, just started talking again. “So your name is Richard?” She asked, making a slight face at his name that he didn’t quite understand, so he didn’t comment on it. 

“Yeah it is, and yours is, um… Ni… Ni…” He found himself struggling to say her name properly, the ‘ah’ sound didn’t want to come out. “Nini?” 

She immediately giggled, and his face turned red, feeling embarrassed now. “Well, it’s _Nina_ … But I like the name Nini.” She had a soft smile on her face now, and he felt his embarrassment die down, a genuine smile coming to his own face now. 

“Okay then… I’ll call you Nini.” He said, nodding. 

“Nini. It’s perfect! I’m gonna tell my mommies my name is Nini now.” She giggled again as she said this, and this time he giggled along with her. Though, he liked her giggle a lot better, it was almost magical sounding. The way he imagined a fairy would giggle. 

Suddenly Nini let out a gasp and her eyes widened, he was about to ask what was wrong, when she turned and started digging around in the pencil case he’d noticed on her desk. After a few seconds of digging, she turned back to him, brandishing an object and holding it out to him. He took it, and examined it carefully, quickly realizing it was a bracelet, made of string. 

“What’s this?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

“It’s a friendship bracelet, my mommies helped me make lots of them before I came to school so I could give them to all the friends I made… And _that one_ is for my best friend.” She explained, pointing to it as she did. 

“We’re best friends?” Richard questioned, he’d never had a friend before. Let alone a best one. 

Nini giggled again and Richard was sure in that moment that he never wanted to hear her stop giggling. “Duh! Haven’t you ever watched _High School Musical_? Gabbyrella says that when you go to kindergarten, you meet a kid, and then you’re best friends!” She said all this very proudly, completely sure of her words. 

He wasn’t completely sure what she was talking about, but he took her word for it, and slipped the friendship bracelet onto his wrist. “I’ve never watched _High School Musical_ …” 

Nini let out an offended gasp, her mouth dropping open and looking at him as though he’d just announced he was actually from Mars. “You gotta come to my house after school and watch it! Okay? You gotta, you just gotta!” She insisted, almost frantically. 

Truthfully, Richard had no interest in that movie, it seemed girly and boring, with too much singing… But Nini was too nice and pretty, he didn’t want to upset her. Plus, she invited him to her house, he’d never been to another kid’s house before. “Okay, okay, I will.” He told her with a smile. 

Nini looked at him for a moment, before holding her pinky up to him. “Promise?” 

He immediately linked her pinky with his own, nodding. “Promise.” He confirmed. 

Nini didn’t pull her pinky away yet though. “One more promise… Promise that we’ll be best friends forever?” 

Richard smiled widely at that. “I promise. _Forever_.” 

“Good.” She pulled away now, before launching into a ramble about High School Musical and how it was ‘the bestest movie ever!’ and he listened with rapt interest. 

… Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad after all. 


End file.
